Month: January 2015

I played a G/15 game on ICC and decided to share it on my Youtube Channel. Here it is:

One idea that I forgot to cover in the video is that when Black tried …Rfe8?, he’s not completely busted if I had tried Rxd7 Rxe1+ Kh2, because he has …Bxd7 in the end. Even then, his pawn structure is worse.

While America isn’t known for its ability to produce world class grandmasters, there’s definitely been a recent trend of increasing strength in the states. Most players love to talk about Hiraku Nakamura and Wesley So, I think more people should pay attention to Grandmaster Sam Shankland.

I first watched Shankland play at this past year’s US Chess Championships when he upset then tournament leader Varuzhan Akobian to cause a late shake up in the standings. Since then, he’s been relatively unheard, despite a strong performance at the Tata Steel Challengers section this past weekend (3rd).

For today’s post, I wanted to share a few of his games so maybe you too can appreciate his style of play.

9. exf6 By opting to play this line of the French, Shankland must effectively control the c5 and e5 squares. White should have relatively easy development, and a backwards pawn to attack on e6.

9…Nxf6 10. 0-0 Bd6 11. Nf3 Qc7 12. Nc3 a6 13. Bd2 0-0

14. Rc1 In a relatively equal position, Shankland takes the most principled approach. By putting his rook on the same file as the opponent’s queen, Black has some questions to answer.

14…Bd7 15. Re1 Rae8

16. Na4 A strong move. From a4, the knight controls c5 (a critical square) and b6, while opening up the rook. If Black isn’t careful, Shankland will have a nice outpost on c5.

16…Bc8 A slight inaccuracy from Black. In an effort to create more space on his own side of the board, Black neglects White’s ability to find active play.

17. Ne5 Rather than allowing Black to push and trade his backwards e-pawn, Shankland uses a common idea of a blockade by placing his knight here.

17…Qb8 18. Bf4 Nxd4

19. Bxh7+ A critical moment in the game.With this exchange, White stands better as he traded his isolated d-pawn for the h-pawn, weakening the enemy kingside while maintaining the e5 outpost in the center.

A good game by Shankland. By optimizing his pieces from what was relatively a equal position, Shankland was able to create outposts to help him limit Black’s ability to move.

Haast – Shankland (2015 Tata Steel Challengers, Round 13)

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3

5…a6 The Najdorf is a favorite opening in Shankland’s repertoire. Recently he made a video series for chess.com on the line, which you can watch here.

6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3

8…h5 Limiting any quick kingside pawn storm.

9.Be2 Nbd7 10.a4 Rc8 11.a5 Be7 12.O-O g6 13.Qd2

13…Kf8 A very interesting idea. By castling by hand, Shankland keeps his rook on h8, a much more appropriate file than the f-file.

14.Nd5 Bxd5

15.exd5 With this exchange, Black closes the d-file, hiding his backwards d6 pawn, which is the main weakness in many Najdorf structures.

15…Kg7 16.Ra4 b5 17.Raa1 Qc7 18.c3 Qb7 19.Rfd1 h4 20.Nc1

20…Bd8 With this move Black sets the tempo of the game. This bishop will slowly find its way to b8, allowing Shankland to connect the rooks while maintaining control of the c-file. White has wasted time with the rook maneuvers on the queenside, allowing for Black to play for a slight advantage.

21.Ra3 Bc7

22.Na2 White must solve the awkwardness in her position. The Women’s International Master’s pieces on the queenside are not coordinated, and will allow for Black to seize control of the c5 square.

22…Bb8 23.Rb3 Nc5 24.Rb4

24…Bc7 And now it becomes clear how messy White’s position truly is. With the a-pawn lost, White quickly grabs the h-pawn. While material may come out even, Black gets a strategic advantage by opening the h-file.

25.Bg5 Bxa5 26.Rxh4 Rxh4 27.Bxh4

27…Bb6 Now without the pawn on a5, Shankland takes full advantage of his repossession of the b6 square. By placing his bishop here, he forces White’s king off the dark square diagonal to the corner of the board…

28.Kh1 Rh8 29.Qe1 Qd7 30.Nb4 Qf5 31.Bf2 a5

32.Nd3?? After being outmaneuvered for most of the game, Haast makes her first big mistake, and Shankland finds a strong tactical blow.

32…Nxd3 33.Bxd3 Bxf2 34.Qxf2

34…Rxh2+! Using the h-file to create a king and queen fork. If White does not comply, Black has …Qh5, putting more pressure on the h-file.

Like in the first game, Shankland uses his ability to maneuver pieces to active squares to outplay his opponents. In the first game, he attacked the c5 and e5 squares, and the second, the c5 square also played a big role. In both of the these cases a knight on these squares really limited the mobility of the opponent. Much like the Doctor, Shankland finds ways to inconvenience his opponents at exactly the right moment. Even if you don’t play the French or the Sicilian Najdorf, most openings have potential outposts. Your pieces are your sonic screwdrivers!

A pretty good tournament from Shankland this past weekend in the first super tournament of 2015. We’ll be seeing more from the Doctor in the near future!

In this month’s USCF (United States Chess Federation) rankings, I placed 44th among all 18 year olds in the country, just 5 more spots up before reaching my goal! With my official rating of 2040, I am the highest rated 18 year old in the state of Virginia!

This weekend, I’ll be playing in the Chesapeake Open in Rockville, Maryland, my first tournament since Thanksgiving weekend. For this tournament, I decided to play in the Championship section, meaning I will play among notable players such as current US Champion Grandmaster Gata Kamsky. This will probably be the toughest tournament of my career, so hopefully my preparation will pay off.

Last tournament, I earned my 2nd Candidate Master norm at the National Chess Congress in Philadelphia. While this tournament will not be easy by any means, my goal is to capture a 3rd, meaning I will need to score points against much higher rated players. This should be fun!

Since creating my Youtube Channel, I haven’t written too many formal blog posts, so here we go.

For today’s post, I wanted to share three different endgame positions from my games. In each position, it is your job to decide how to carry out your plan.

Al-Hariri–Steincamp (Continental Class Championships, 2013)

Black to Move and Win

Answer:

1… f4+! Hopefully you found this one. By sacrificing the f-pawn, you create a passed g-pawn. White has no hope to defend. 2.gxf4+ Kf5 -+ White must give up the pawn on f4 because the g-pawn covers f3.

Steincamp–Wu (Northern Virginia Open, 2013)

White to Move and Win

Answer:

There are several ways to win, but the point of the puzzle is to create a plan. Black’s only hope is his isolated e-pawn, so its critical to keep the king in close proximity. Meanwhile, White has a kingside majority. In this position, I decided to fix my opponent’s h-pawn. 1. g5 Kd6 2. h5 Ke6 3. h6 This move threatens g5-g6, with the idea of creating a passed pawn on the h-file. 3… Ke7 Black must give up his e-pawn and the game is over. 4. Kxe5 Kf7 5. Kf5 Kg8 6. Ke6 Kf8 7. Kf6 I didn’t want too calculate too much in such an easy position, so I just found the easiest way to make the position the most inconvenient for my opponent. 7…Kg8 8. Ke7 Kh8 9. Kd6 Kg8 10. Kc5 I could never win the h-pawn, but I could win the b-pawn. Once I pushed my opponent to the corner of the board, I just waltzed my way to b4. 1-0

The key with this position was not so much to calculate each and every line, but determine a clear plan, and execute it with the fewest amount of complications.

Steincamp–Baumgartner (Eastern Open, 2012)

Black to Move and Win

Answer:

This one is the hardest of the three puzzles. Black, up a pawn, must not be materialistic and find the aggressive 1… Ke5! sacrificing the pawn. With my king defending the kingside, I have no hope to stop the passed b-pawn. 2. Rxg6 Kd4 3. Kf1 Kc3 4. Ke2 b4 5. Rd6 b3 6. Rd3+ Kc2 covering both b2 and b1, the pawn is unstoppable. 7. Rd2+ Kb1 8. Rd1+ Ka2 9. Rd8 b2 10. Ra8+ Kb3 11. Rb8+ Kc2 0-1

My opponent played this endgame very well. If he had opted to not play 1… Ke5!, he might have only earned a half point. Again, the key is not to be materialistic, but to find resources for activity and counterplay… Especially in a rook endgame.

Today I came out with a Live Chess video! For this video, I played a G/15 game on the Internet Chess Club (ICC) and analyzed each position as I made my moves. After starting with a new opening, I took a relatively equal opening and played to a fairly dynamic endgame. Hope you enjoy!